Essential: Explain how Alaska's location was considered 'strategic' during World War II. What were the war activities/events that supported the perspective of 'strategic' Alaska?
Since before it was purchased in 1867, Alaska’s significance in a Pacific Ocean war had been known. President Abraham Lincoln is said to have commented on the United States' need for North Pacific naval bases (Alaskans & the World). Also according to Matthew Hunter, “In the early twentieth century US relations with Japan began to fall apart. Military planers began to realize how important Alaska would be if there was a war in the Pacific. Alaska was within flying distance of Japan and the rest United States. Survival would depend on keeping it under our control.”
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| Japanese Advancement http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/aleut/aleut.htm |
Japan also was aware of the importance of Alaska’s location in the Pacific Ocean. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto planned to “invade and occupy strategic points in the Western Aleutians as well as Midway Island on the western tip of the Hawaiian chain”(US Army). Yamamoto wanted to set up a defensive perimeter in the Pacific and destroy the United States Pacific Fleet. He attacked the Aleutian Islands in 1942 to lure the already weakened American fleet from Pearl Harbor and annihilate it before new construction could replace the losses it had sustained on December 7, 1941 (US Army). Fortunately the United States was victorious at Midway, deterring Yamamoto’s plans, and the Aleutians remained part of the United States (Clancey).
Examine: What was the rationale for the Lend-Lease ALSIB project?
The Lend-Lease Alaska- Siberia (ALSIB) project was the “name of the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, France and other Allied nations with vast amounts of war material between 1941 and 1945” (Bravo 369).
It is known that in the initial stage of the war, the Soviet Union suffered from the lack of ammunition, food supply, and strategic materials. Then in June of 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union. In October of 1941, the United States extended the First Protocol of Lend-Lease aid to the Soviets. The rationale for giving aide to the Soviets was to stand with a “united front against the powers confessing fascism and militarism” (Alaska/Siberia Connection).
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| ALSIB Lend-Lease http://aksrc.homestead.com/Maps.html |
The Second Protocol of the Lend-Lease project was established in 1942 and the ALSIB air route was put into action. “American pilots would ferry the newly manufactured planes from the factories to Gore Field and later to East Base at Great Falls, Montana. With Canadian cooperation, they would bring the aircraft to Alaska along the Northwest Staging Route, the pioneer inland air route through western Canada and into interior Alaska.49 At Ladd Field, Soviets would take delivery of the planes, fly them to Galena, Nome, and then on to the Siberian portion of lines” (Colorado State University).
While there was much dispute for years afterward whether the aid was appropriate and who should have paid for it, the wartime alliance between the United States and the Soviet Union served its purpose of defeating the Axis, and ALSIB Lend-Lease contributed in some measure to the victory (Colorado State University).
Extend: How might you use content from this module in your professional practice?
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| Google Earth |
The content in Module VIII could be utilized as a critical thinking question in my science classroom while students learn about latitude and longitude. To comprehend what the numbers mean in relation to distance, I would want students to study Alaska and its location. It has been mentioned before in this class that Alaskans often feel like they are on the edge of the world, while Alaska is actually a central location. I would ask students why the location of Alaska was considered 'strategic' during World War II. The students would have to understand latitude and longitude of Alaska as well as the locations of Japan and Russia in order to properly answer the question. It is wonderful to be able to intertwine History and Science, they are so dependent on one another.
Evaluate: Write a brief paragraph reflecting on the content, style, and usefulness of this first module.
In one of the readings for Module VIII, it was mentioned that many students were never taught about the Japanese attack on the Aleutian Islands. I was one of those students until now. In fact, when I saw the Module title I was a bit confused on what we could possibly discuss. I enjoyed learning about Alaska’s role in WWII and am excited to reference this knowledge in my classroom.
Resources:
Alaska History & Cultural Studies. (2012). Alaska Heritage: Alaskans and the World. Retrieved from http://www.akhistorycourse.org/articles/article.php?artID=172
Alaska/Siberia Connection. (2012). Alaska/Siberia Connection. Retrieved from http://alaskasiberia.com/
Bravo 369 Flight Foundation. (2011). Lend-Lease History. Retrieved from http://www.bravo369.org/lend%20lease/lend.html
Clancey, Patrick. (1998). The Aleutians Campaign. Retrieved from http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Aleutians/USN-CN-Aleutians-Intro.html
Colorado State University. (n.d.). The World War II Heritage of Ladd Field. Retrieved from http://www.usarak.army.mil/conservation/WWII_LaddField/Ch5.pdf
Hunter, Matthew. (2006). Sitka’s WWII Site. Retrieved from http://mchunter1.tripod.com/sitkaww2.html# & http://www.sitkaww2.com/
US Army Center of Military History. (2003). Aleutian Islands. Retrieved from http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/aleut/aleut.htm
Colleagues Blogs:
Diane is Exploring Alaska: Diane wrote about the harsh reality of moving the Aleuts to Southeast Alaska during the Aleutian Campaign of WWII. I had skipped over the treatment of these people while reading this module and was saddened to read her post.
Exploring Alaska’s Culture: Shannon chose to answer the same questions as I did for Module VIII. I enjoyed reading her answers because they focused on different concepts than mine did. She mentioned the building of the Alcan Highway and it’s importance to Alaska’s strategic location during WWII.
Alaskan History - A Newcomers Perspective: Claire did a great job capturing my attention with her opening paragraph. She quoted Billy Mitchell and General Paul Hester talking about Alaska’s strategic location.
In Module VIII, Heather Ewaldt Discussed the importance of lend lease to the Soviets, and how it was vital in helping the alliance win the war. While not directly involving Alaska, one aspect of supplying the Soviets with lend lease material, as important as the air route from Fairbanks, was west coast shipping to Vladivostok in Siberia. This route went through the Gulf of Alaska and at least one Russian cargo ship was wrecked in the Aleutians. Apparently the US turned over 70-80 cargo ships to the Soviets. In one of the stranger aspects of the war. These now Soviet ships, filled with American material, could apparently sail unmolested by the Japanese through the war zone. This was because the Soviets were allied with the US against the Nazi's, but not against the Japanese until the final few weeks of the war!
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